Rescuing the Cups
by Liberty Roth
Summary: Toph's Earthbending made Sokka drop cooking utensils into the river... and the two go on a quest to rescue the cups. But Toph is bothered by something that Sokka said, and plucks up the courage to ask him about it. Tokka and subtle Zutara.
1. Chapter 1

**ATTENTION:** This fan fiction piece contains **SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE "THE WESTERN AIR TEMPLE"** which is the episode after the Day of Black Sun. I'm sure all of you rock-hard Avatards have already scoured Youtube and seen it five times by this point… But I'm just warning you.

Wow, it's been so long since I've uploaded a story. I'm a little rusty, ignore that and enjoy the story. Tokka, with maybe a little twist of Zutara.

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"_I am so glad that we added you to the group!"_

Sokka hadn't meant it in a bad way, and at the moment Toph had seemed happy about him saying it. Sokka was giving her a compliment, which she thought only about two people in the world had ever had the Water Tribe warrior give them a compliment. But now, as she had dwelled on it over several days, her face twisted into a scowl.

It made it seem like he only liked her for her Metalbending abilities, and nothing more.

"That's okay, I don't need any help, Katara," came a grumble not far away from the boulder that Toph was sitting on. She could still hear it over the rushing of the river, and could tell that Sokka was heading in her direction. His voice went into falsetto, as he stooped down to pick up a pan that he had dropped. "_Gee, Sokka. Go wash these for me while I google at the shirtless Fire Nation prince. No, really. Go ahead. Leave me and Aang alone with him. I'm watching them train. Really, Sokka. Go. Make sure you scrub that one. Those sea prunes rock up…_"

Sokka headed towards the river, his sight handicapped by the fact that all of their cooking utensils were piled in his arms. A smile came to Toph's face as she jerked her head slightly.

The dark-skinned boy's boot hit a rock that was suddenly jutting out of the ground at an unnatural angle. He pitched forward, and dropped the pans so that he could catch himself instead of smashing his skull into the ground.

_Clang! Bash! Boom!_

"Arrrghhhh," he groaned, looking at the metal cooking pieces that were now scatted around him. He had been close to the river, so now most of the objects were resting right on the edge of the river.

"Gee, Sokka, you really should be more careful. Make two trips next time." Toph said, frowning in fake sympathy. "Or ask Haru to help you."

"Thanks for the advice," he grunted as he got to his knees. His eyes drifted towards the river, where he noticed something shiny bobbing in the river. The teenager jumped to his feet, and started to wade into the river. But it was too late – the cups and bowls were floating out of reach. "Toph! Help me get the cups!"

"_What_?" she asked him, her head snapping in his direction. Her black bangs snapped around her face. "You people don't get it! I'm _blind_. I can't _swim_. No sight for Toph!" She waved her hand in front of her face. "It's your fault – you get the cups."

He looked at her, and waded out of the river to stand on the bank. "It's _your _fault! Rocks don't magically appear out of nowhere."

"Sure they do. Otherwise what did you trip over?" She asked innocently. "And it might be Haru. I told him you were planning to shave his mustache off. I don't think he likes you."

"Toph! There's no time to argue! Just help me get the cups and stuff out of the water!" he yelled at her, and took her wrist in his hand. He yanked her off of the rock, and began to run parallel to the water. "Katara! We're going to go get the cups! Toph threw them in the river!"

"I didn't touch them!" Toph yelled back at Katara, but by that time the two teenagers were out of hearing distance for the Waterbender to hear her.

--

Wow… how… uneventful. Well, it'll get better next chapter. Read my other stories – I do this to people. There'll be more fluff for you guys later.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you see them?" Sokka asked absentmindedly, as he was weaving quickly through the small saplings that grew on the edge of the river. He nearly tripped over a root as his blue eyes scanned the river, looking for the smallest shimmer of metal or the dark brown of wood.

"Oh, _yeah_. There they are!" Toph said, her voice dripping with sarcasm that Sokka didn't quite catch.

"Where?!" he asked, his voice going up an octave higher in his excitement. "I don't see them – where are they?" Toph didn't answer, and instead trudged past him with a glare on her face. "Oh. Right. I forgot."

That was always his excuse. I forgot. Toph wondered if forgot to do things when he was little, or if he got dropped on his head more than one time. She would have to ask Katara. "We're not gonna find them, Ponytail."

"Yes, we are. It's your fault that they fell into the river, anyway."

"How is it _my _fault that you can't walk?"

Sokka growled as he pushed a branch out of his way, and held it back so Toph wouldn't get smacked in the face with it. "It's _your _fault because _you _made that rock hit my shoe. I wouldn't have fallen if you didn't make the rock move."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have moved the rock if you appreciated me a little more." Toph grumbled in return. It felt good to say it. "You always think I'm just some tool for you to use in your stupid plans. _Oh, Toph can Earthbend the whole city out of the ground! It'll be perfect! Oh, Toph can stop the huge metal drill! Oh, Toph can Metalbend the door open! She can open the locked chest! It's easy and not at all challenging! _But do I ever hear a thank you? No, I don't! I left a life of luxury to train the Avatar out of the kindness of my heart. I even got my feet burned because I was trying to get Zuko to train Aang. But do I ever hear a _Wow, thank you, Toph, for getting your feet burned just because we're too dumb to accept him? _No! I don't!"

She was yelling at the end, her face showing her irritation she felt at him. Instead of weaving through the trees, she now uprooted them by moving the earth around them. She slammed her feet onto the ground, walking with a little more force than was necessary.

"Hey! I told you how glad I was to have you in the group!" Sokka said after a moment of silence, stunned at her sudden outburst. "Don't whine at _me_!"

"Yeah! You did!" she yelled, and twirled on her foot to face him. Her face was staring into his chest, but she didn't know the difference. "You told me how glad you were to have me in the group… because of my _bending_!"

"_What_!?" Sokka asked, his voice incredulous. "Toph, I don't get it. You're mad that we don't appreciate you and we don't thank you after you do something amazing. But when I do thank you… you get even _more_ angry. What am I _supposed _to appreciate?"

"Nothing. Never mind. Just look for the cups, Ponytail." She ordered, turning away from him to hide the sudden flush that danced across her face. "I'll tell you if I feel a baby mooselion coming."

"Hey! That mooselion had a big mom!" Sokka grumbled, and he continued to let his eyes wander over the water. But he was still wondering – what was he supposed to be appreciating about Toph? If he couldn't appreciate her bending… what else was there? Toph wasn't the easiest person to get along with, even if she did come in handy a lot.

_Maybe I just don't understand women, _Sokka thought, his eyebrows lunging towards each other as he frowned at the river. He didn't get time to dwell on his thoughts, however, as he noticed something that wasn't water in the river. "There they are!" he yelled, and placed his sword in Toph's arms. "Hold this while I get them."

"_Please,_" Toph grumbled after him as the meteorite sword was pushed into her arms. She sat down on the ground in a huff, pushing the sword onto the ground.

He ignored her, and instead tore off into the water. _I should have taken my shirt off, _he scolded himself. His clothes felt awfully heavy, and it was making swimming in the river even more difficult. The water was up to his neck now, the currents dragging at his feet. "I can… almost… reach!" he yelled at Toph, and he stretched his hand out to try and reach one of the cups.

"Great," Toph said sarcastically. She wasn't enjoying this play-by-play. Water wasn't interesting – it was a pain. She still remembered getting sick in the submarine that Sokka had designed. Although it had been pretty smart – why battle when you could swim under? She thought of the battle they could have had at the Fire Nation… a great battle where she could show off her skills. Ahh. She could see it now… boulders flying… Sokka would get in trouble, and she would bravely deflect a fire blast. Of course he wouldn't say so much as 'thank you' to her. She rested her chin in her palm, frowning as she thought for a while. Why was it so difficult to get him to appreciate her?

"Toph!" Sokka's urgent voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she stood.

"What? Sokka? What's wrong? Did you get them?"

There was a pause and a splashing sound. "No. I'm still in the river! The river's too strong – Earthbend me out of here or something!"

"I can't _see _in the river! I might kill you on accident!" she yelled back at him, cupping her hands over her mouth to form a megaphone. His voice was getting harder to hear, she ran alongside the river trying to keep up with him.

Sokka wasn't answering. She strained her ears, trying to hear the faintest whisper.

Silence.

"Sokka! Can you hear me?!"

--

Haha, I'm such a tease. Don't worry, another chapter is already halfway written. This chapter was going to be uber-long, but I broke it off because long chapters aren't my forte.


	3. Chapter 3

It still took a moment, but finally Toph could make out Sokka's voice. "Toph! Throw me something! Or go get Katara or Aang! I'll even take Mustache-Man-Boy or Zuko! Even the Duke would be fine!"

She let out a small frustrated-sounding noise. "_Sokka! _I can't _see _where to throw something! I could knock you out or throw it the wrong way!" She thought briefly about going to get somebody, but they were pretty far away from camp. Even if she did manage to find someone, it might be too late.

"Go get someone!" he said, though the last of his sentence sounded a bit gurgled.

"No, it'll be too late," she decided softly, and instead took a breath. She got her hands into Earthbending position, and took a step into the river. The silt and sand below her feet made her 'vision' fuzzy, like it had been when they had been in the desert. Toph smashed her toes down into the river, trying to pack it into something that would allow her to see better… but it just squished out between her toes.

"No, Toph! Go get someone!" Sokka yelled at her as he continued to float down the river. Toph couldn't swim – they had all realized that when she had fallen into the water at the Serpent's Pass. This time there wasn't any Suki to rescue her if she got in too deep water. "Go get Katara!"

"I can do this," she yelled back at him, trying to assure herself as well as Sokka as the cool water seeped into her clothes. "I can do this." The Earthbender said it a little softer this time, as she stepped further into the water. Fear gripped her, but then she heard Sokka still yelling at her to stop, and it made her go into Toph Determination Mode.

"Sokka! Stop yelling! Tell me what direction you are! Be my eyes – tell me where to go!" she ordered. There was a pause, some splashing, and then she could hear Sokka's voice. He sounded calmer now that he was being ordered around, strangely.

"Alright. Just follow my voice, okay? I'm not very far out, it's just a strong current runs just about when the water gets to your thighs - uh, I mean _your _waist - and it knocks you off your feet Sorry."

Toph felt her face automatically pull into a frown as he mentioned her height. "Yeah, yeah, Ponytail! Hold on! Tell me when I get close to the – "

"You're too close to the current! No! Don't take another – "

But, of course, Toph didn't hear him in time. Her foot stepped forward a few feet, and she understood what he had meant about the current. The water wasn't deep, but it was a very strong current. It struck her behind the knee, and her normally strong Earthbender stance fell over in the water. Toph could feel herself being swept along as she struggled to keep her head above the water. "Sokka!"

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EDIT: Apparently when I had a little note at the bottom of this page, it made it seem like I didn't have any ideas… I DO have ideas, but because of the note people kept submitting plot ideas for me (thank you all!), when in reality I just wanted to know how to make my writing seem more realistic. Thanks for all who replied, though, I really appreciate it! I'm definitely going to continue this story. The ending is just too tempting for me to not.


	4. Chapter 4

Toph didn't have to struggle in the water for long. She caught up with Sokka in a few minutes, since Sokka was actually swimming to fight the current and to prevent himself from going further downstream. As the water nearly pushed the Earthbender into the dark-skinned boy, she felt him wrap an arm around her waist to keep them together in the water.

"Toph!" he yelled over the water. It was strange – Toph had come into the water to save him, but now he had more control over the situation than she did. Who was the one doing the rescuing? "Swim towards shore, okay?"

"I can't _swim_! I don't know where the shore _is_!" she yelled back at him, holding onto him for dear life.

Sokka thought his arm might go numb and fall off because she was holding onto him so tightly. "Okay, well, then let me do the swimming…" he trailed off, trying to decide what to do with Toph while he was swimming. "Get on my back, okay?"

Toph hung onto Sokka with a death grip, not wanting to chance drifting away from him. "Okay."

"… Toph?"

"Yeah?"

"You have to move." He said softly, and pulled her hands off of his shirt. It was hard to stay afloat without his hands, and for a moment the two bobbed under the water. Toph came up spluttering, but Sokka shifted her to his back while he had the chance. "Hold on!"

Toph took his words to heart, and wound her arms around his neck very tightly. Sokka took one of his hands and attempted to make her grip a little less tight. "Not… so… tight!"

Realizing that she was strangling one of her best friends, she loosened her grip around him a tiny bit. She wasn't going to risk falling off of him… she might end up drowning! With her slackened grip, Sokka could maneuver better in the water. He set his face – now it wasn't only him that was being carried along swiftly by the current, but it was also Toph.

The combined weight of the two people made it especially hard for Sokka to swim toward the shore, so by the time they reached the sandy shore he was utterly exhausted. He climbed onto the sandy land, and immediately lay down onto his stomach with a sigh. He hoped he never had to do that again.

"Toph?" he caught her hands with his own, and unwound her arms from around his neck. "Are you, uh, okay?"

She flopped off of his back, and started kissing the sand. "I'm never going into the water again, Ponytail! Oh, land! I've missed you!" she cried dramatically, and Sokka started laughing at her sand-covered face.

"Great rescue job!" he teased her, and watched her shake the sand out of her black hair and wipe it off of her face.

"Nice _swimming_ job. I thought you grew up around water, Ponytail? Is that how they taught you to swim?"

"That doesn't mean I _swam _in the frozen water."

Toph rolled her eyes, and continued to wipe the sand off of her face. "I can tell."

"At least I'm not dumb enough to get sand all over my face."

"Hey, I got it all off," she growled back at him, her milky eyes staring off into space like they usually did. Sokka looked at her, and his eyes drifted towards her mouth. Sand was still stuck to the corners of her mouth.

"No, you didn't."

Toph's hands flew around her face. She began wiping her cheeks vigorously, making red chafe marks appear on her face. "Get it off!"

"Quit it," he ordered, grabbing her wrists and pulling them off of her face. "It's on your _mouth_." He reached towards her mouth, and gently brushed the sand away with his fingertips. "There."

Toph blushed, and her eyes widened at the sudden contact. She had half a mind to launch him into the river with a well-bended boulder, but decided against it.

Sokka noticed her blush, and his own cheeks matched hers. He had never been this close to Toph before. Well, except in the river. But he had never been this… well, he had never touched her lips before. They weren't chapped at all, like he had expected from an Earth bender. They were soft and warm despite the chilly river they had both been in moments before. "Toph?"

"Yeah?" she asked him, making her voice sound a little more hard than she usually did. Hopefully that would throw him off of the trail she knew they were both about to go down.

He hesitated. "Is this what I'm supposed to appreciate?"

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AHAHAHA. Cliff hangers ROCK! This is the next-to-last chapter, folkses. Sorry. Thanks for all the reviews and ideas. Sorry if it's rushed – this was the hardest chapter to write. Eurgh.


	5. Chapter 5

Toph froze where she sat, waiting silently as she decided on what she wanted to say after he finished touching her lips. Waiting, listening, like she was in the Earth bending ring again. Hopefully this time she would come out as a champion, too. But she knew if she won, this time she wouldn't be getting a belt.

"_Is this what I'm supposed to appreciate?"_

Her eyes widened, her cheeks set alight by his speech. Sokka was supposed to be clueless! He wasn't supposed to _understand _things! He was supposed to trudge around with his stupid sword and eat meat and beat his chest. She knew she could lie very well, and if she just picked the right set of words she could throw him off the trail. He would think he was wrong, and then they would never have to do this again.

"Yes," she said, her voice as steady as the element she bended. "This is what you're supposed to appreciate. Toph… as a person instead of a weapon."

Sokka leaned in closer to her, and she felt her cheeks maintain the heat. "I… I already do, Toph."

"You do?" she asked in surprise, tilting her head up to look in the direction that she guessed Sokka's head was. Even if she was blind, she sometimes liked to look at people while she talked. It made them forget she was blind.

"Yeah. Who wouldn't?" his voice wasn't as soft as it had been before; he was gaining confidence. "You're strong, independent, and let's face it: you could probably invade a small country by yourself."

Her face fell. He was appreciating her bending again. Maybe Sokka didn't understand, maybe he had misunderstood all of this.

"Wait, wait, let me finish," he said, looking at the disappointment so clear on her face. "But that's not what I like most about you, Toph. I like… I like how your hair falls in your face and you don't even bother brushing it back. I like that you don't care about appearances, and that makes you great. Because… because you don't even realize how incredibly beautiful you are." She blushed, and he smiled. "But most of all, I like your blush."

She cleared her throat. "Well, I'm glad you finally appreciate me, Sokka…" she said, with a hard joking edge to her voice. That had been awkward, with her just lying there as he told her all of these things.

"I do," he said and his smile softened. He leaned closer to Toph, finishing the gap between them. He pressed his lips against hers, and part of him prepared for the rock to the head he was half-expecting.

But Toph wasn't planning on launching any rocks at him. She didn't even think she could bend anything right now. Her head was too full of thoughts, most of which screamed _he's kissing me!_ His lips weren't as soft as hers were, but she appreciated them anyway. They were… well, what word could she use to describe them? They were like Sokka.

"Toooooph! Sokkaaaaaaa!"

The two broke apart, both of their cheeks flushed. Toph recognized whose voice it was, and slammed one of her feet into the ground. A rock shot up from underneath Sokka, making him stand suddenly.

Out of the forest that was edging the river came three figures. Katara came first, her cheeks, like Toph's, were also slightly flushed. Zuko looked kind of happy, which was strange to Toph. Finally, from up above on his new glider, came Aang – the one who had been doing the yelling.

"I told you that they'd come, Ponytail," Toph said, her voice clearly saying _don't tell them anything happened ,_and stood up to join Sokka.

"Yeah. Well." Was all Sokka managed to say.

His sister looked at his sheepish face with suspicion. "What were you two doing?"

Toph looked in the direction of the Waterbender, and was thankful that she was the only one who could detect lies. "Rescuing the cups."

--

Thanks for sticking with me until the end. I hope you guys liked this chapter – I know I loved to write this. I'm better at writing about mushy stuff than people flailing around in a river. I really like the end dialogue from Toph. "Rescuing the cups, duh. WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING, MOM! BAJEEZUMS!"


End file.
